March 11, 2014 (Lafayette, CO) – Local game developer, DreamQuest Games, will be greatly expanding their STEM-focused Video Game Design Camps as well as adding cutting-edge game technology including Virtual Reality (VR). Christopher Williamson, DreamQuest Games owner and lead instructor, explains: “We had such a great response from parents, kids, and educators last year that we are expanding to include eight Colorado locations. This year I am super-excited to be the first tech camp to offer kids the opportunity to develop games using the new OculusVR prototype.”

Christopher was inspired by President Obama’s State of the Union call-to-action in getting boys and girls excited about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM): “I was delighted to see more funding in the 2015 budget to teach STEM, especially outside the classroom. While we aren’t a part of that budget, I really felt I could do my part to make a difference by getting kids excited about technology through building their own video game app! You can even play some of the kids’ games on our site at www.dreamquest.org”

DreamQuest Academy is the only video game design camp in Colorado where each instructor has experience in the video game industry. “I love that first day when a shy kid just lights up when we start talking about games,” shares Jacob Etter, one of DreamQuest’s game developers and instructors. With 20 years of experience in the game development industry, they have the unique ability to really connect the kids to this exciting tech field. “It was really fun touring Backflip and seeing how they make the parts [for Dragonvale],” exclaimed one of their students, Sofia. Another one of DreamQuest’s students, Chris (age 12), took his game from the camp and continued working on it, even publishing it on an indie game Web site. “Better than a lot of other game camps…We got to work in teams and learn Unity,” he shares.

About DreamQuest Academy

DreamQuest Academy offers a fun 2-week camp experience to kids and teens ages 10-16, with each camp session limited to just 15 students. Under the guidance of our industry-experienced instructors, students design and build their own unique video game using Unity3D. We incorporate a STEM curriculum into our camp syllabus, and students make friends while joining up in teams to create a video game. Camps available at: Boulder, Louisville/Lafayette, Longmont, Westminster, Cherry Creek, Denver Tech Center, Fort Collins, and Grand Junction. Students can choose from four session dates per location in 2014: June 2-13, June 16-27, July 7-18, and July 21-August 1.